Each year, there are lots of high school basketball players who wish to acquire a college basketball scholarship. However, only a handful of scholarships are given. Individuals who have displayed the right combination of talent and perseverance in both the gym and classroom are usually given these scholarships.
If you are aiming to be a professional basketball player, or if you want to secure a college education to prepare for bigger opportunities in the future, then a basketball scholarship can definitely help you. However, you cannot assume that college basketball coaches will run after you and ask you to be part of their team. Well, unless you are a generational talent or you are very popular among schools in terms of basketball.
If you are aiming to get a college basketball scholarship, there are actually plenty of ways you can do to increase your chances. Here are some tips we can share that might help you acquire a college basketball scholarship.
Enhance Your Basketball Skills
Enhancing your basketball skills is probably the most important way to increase your chance of getting a college basketball scholarship. If you are the best player on your team in your senior year of high school, it can be one of the reasons why you can secure a scholarship. But for a greater chance of getting one, aim to play on your school’s basketball team all throughout your high school years.
Keep in mind that you need to work hard to become the best basketball player you can be. Always practice, work on your skills, be in condition, and try to become stronger. Playing basketball in high school to college is a big jump. In college, there will be bigger, stronger, and more experienced players that you will encounter. Aside from that, the game will be longer, faster, and more physical.
This means that while you’re in high school, you cannot think that you are doing enough and that you are ready for college basketball. You always need to be better by practicing and enhancing your basketball skills.
Don’t Forget About Your Academics
Aside from enhancing your basketball skills, you should not forget about your academics. College coaches are looking for athletes with good grades. It’s because basketball players in college are student-athletes. It means that they also attend class, do research, take tests, and write papers like regular students do, in conjunction with playing basketball. College basketball coaches certainly do not like to take chances on academic risks. Therefore, you should always aim to get good grades and take standardized tests as early as possible.
Create a Highlight Video of Your Game
Another way you can do to increase your chance of getting a college basketball scholarship is to make a highlight video of your game. You can do this by recording footages of your games, then edit several clips together into a 3 to 7-minute video. The video should show your basketball skills and important areas of your game, such as passing, defending, scoring, moving, and more. Doing this will make you visible to scouts and coaches who are not able to see your games live.
Try to Find Out Where You Belong at the College Level
Based on your abilities, try to find out or understand what division level is realistic for you. It’s because, in reality, only a few high school students will be offered to compete at the Division 1 level. Doing this will prevent you from getting stuck in a situation where you feel your talent and skills are not fully utilized.
To get an accurate assessment of your skills, you can either get evaluated by your coach or someone familiar with your game, or you can attend a basketball camp and find out how scouts evaluate you. Both of these can help you move on to the next process.
Prepare Everything You Need
When you already know where you belong at the college level, the next step you need to do is to prepare all the materials you need to get the attention of coaches and scouts. This includes your academic grades, transcripts, high school status, and the highlight video of your game. These things will be useful when it’s time for you to reach out to colleges.
Two supreme remote working technologies to access your online private work space remotely from anywhere on any device(PC/Mac/android/iOS) – Cloud Hosted Citrix vdi and Windows Virtual Desktop Azure from Apps4Rent.com with 24*7*365 days top-notch technical support.
Register with the NCAA
It is required to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center if you want to have a chance to get any sort of athletic scholarship in college. This process is needed for them to validate that you are really an amateur athlete. The process is easy, and they will only ask for a few requirements to complete your registration. Make this step one of your priorities to make sure that you are not missing anything in the future.
Reach Out to Colleges That You’d Like to Try Out In
As early as your junior year in high school, you should start making a list of the colleges you can see yourself playing basketball in. After that, send an email to those colleges. Introduce yourself and state your interest in their basketball program.
When sending an email, it is important to be respectful and use proper grammar and clean formatting. This way, they will be able to see your professionalism. You can also include in the email links to your videos and as well as your contact details.
Aside from that, you can also try to schedule an appointment to meet the coach if possible, and if you can tour the campus as well. This will help you decide if the school’s culture is fit for you, and if you can connect with the coach well. Extensive research is important, so make sure that you choose a college that will help you improve, not just as a player but as an individual as well.
Ask for Support from Your Coaches
When you do good in your high school basketball team, and you keep showing your coach how dedicated you are in basketball, he will likely be happy to help you get a college basketball scholarship in the future. Just keep on nurturing your relationships with your coach. And when the time comes, try to ask for letters of recommendation.
Aside from your coaches in your high school, you can also go out of your way and meet other coaches that might give you tips on how to acquire a college basketball scholarship. Remember that every contact you have is a possible outlet for college coaches and scouts to notice you.
These are some of the best tips we can give for you to increase your chance to get a college basketball scholarship. Yes, it can be intimidating to think that there are thousands of other high school students who are aiming to get a college basketball scholarship. But you just need to continue striving daily and become the best basketball player you can be to get the scholarship you deserve.